News

Not really surprising. The demographics remain the most powerful influence on the statistics in the UK at the moment. We have to wait for the cuts to bite to see if there are consequences for property crime.

PREVENT goes. Bit of an early surprise. This is one of the four planks of the counter-terrorism programme, and in many ways the most important. I’m not sure how much of this is Guardian spin, but it is true that aspects of PREVENT had dismayed Muslim communities in the UK. The Labour government confused intelligence gathering with community strengthening and fell into the trap it fell into in so many other areas of trying to turn every NGO or business it could find into an arm of the state in the name of counter-terrorism [discuss]. The bleating of Alan Johnson, ex-Home Secretary at the foot of this piece shows how far Labour still have to go to regain confidence in the area of civil liberties.

One suspects that this is a simple cost-cutting exercise. Despite the announcement of a review, note that actually, just about all the counter-terrorism powers have been renewed for a further six months, so the headline could just as easily be: “Ministers continue previous government’s draconian measures to suspend civil liberties.” We shall see…or we wont, because all will have been forgotten six months down the track. One thing you can bet on. Intercept evidence will be permitted in the courts.

” As the deluge subsides and the waters fall short we see the dreary steeples of Fermanagh and Tyrone emerging once again.” [Churchill 1922] Its marching season once again in Ulster and here come the rioters. Nothing learned, nothing changed. Except perhaps that its Sinn Fein condemning dissident republicans and outsiders…

Your blogger is back from the first Standing Group on Organised Crime Summer School in Catania and can report that it was excellent. You should have been there! I will try to catch up over the next few days on the stories I missed while I was away.

Seems an appropriate link to begin with. The links are tenuous, but American lawyers will go to any lengths to get publicity. underneath all this, though are allegations about yet another Ponzi scheme that has absolutely nothing to do with Ms. Hilton.

Surprisingly a number are Americans or have strong US links. Funny little piece. The author expresses surprise that many know what life in the West is like. Osama himself does. The whole point is the rejection of Western values and the Disneyfication of their world…innit?